Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford departed last night’s game with a groin strain, as Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News reports. The veteran had already been scheduled to miss a few games on the bereavement list, but the club will be anxious to see how he feels upon his return. “I really haven’t felt anything like that before,” said Crawford, “so I can’t tell you how bad it is. It just felt tight. I didn’t feel a pop, so from what I hear, that’s good news.” San Francisco will likely bring up utilityman Kelby Tomlinson to fill in for Crawford during his three-day absence, Baggarly notes.
Here are a few more notes from out west:
- With the Rangers set to give Ryan Rua additional time in left field, writes Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, it seems that Jurickson Profar has again failed to capitalize upon a chance to lay claim to playing time. Through 46 plate appearances, he is slashing just .135/.289/.135, though at least he has managed as many walks as strikeouts (eight apiece). Now, the 24-year-old switch-hitter seems to be slotted beneath both Rua and Delino DeShields on the depth chart in left, with little apparent room to fit in the infield. There’s still time for Profar to find a way into the lineup, of course, but it also doesn’t help his cause that fellow former top prospect Joey Gallo has hit so well while filling in at third base. Profar’s future in Texas has long been in question, but that’s perhaps more true now than ever.
- The Mariners may increase the flexibility of their usage of closer Edwin Diaz, as Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune writes. Deploying the high-powered youngster for multiple innings and in non-traditional situations would line up with a leaguewide movement away from fixed bullpen roles. That certainly seems to be part of the impetus here — skipper Scott Servais notes that “you don’t want to not get the game to the 10th inning because you kept your closer fresh” — but it’s also the case that, per Servais, Diaz just “needs to pitch” more than he has been.
Well if we ever want to see Diaz pitch again then he’s definitely going to need to put him in different situations.
I think a good trade would be Profar from the Rangers for Matt Adams from the Cardinals. Adams would give the Rangers a player with power on the field and from the bench. Profar should help the Cardinals gosh awful defense up the middle. The Cardinals could move Diaz to 3rd where they currently have a revolving door for player at that position.
That’s insane.
You are dreaming
Ha! Thanks guys! And…..you’re right !!! My bad. Then…How about… Broxton, Peralta,
And Adams for Oquendo back!
You have to hit the ball to have power…and that is one thing Adams does not do. Cardinals just need to cut him and peralta lose. Nobody wants them in trades and they aren’t helping the cardinals
Hey I am a birds fan.. I would love to see that trade! Having said that I think Adams still has some value, but not Profar value.. I know he hasn’t done anything in the MLB but he is only 24. Also, The only place I see Adams succeeding is Colorado. Just my opinion, I am No expert.
Not like profar is hitting .350 with tons of contact. You could easily say Adams has had the more productive career and if profar wasn’t a number 1 overall prospect he’d likely have been dfa by now.
I wouldn’t trade the Cards anything ever. They should have killed that franchise after the Astros hack.
Time to adjust your meds.
Those aren’t meds. Those are heavy hallucinogens.
You cannot be older than 12 if you truly think thats a fair deal for both sides.
Coming from a person who almost always sides with SABR, I have to say that this time I disagree with seemingly logical non-save closer use. As a Red Sox fan I just spent 2016 watching Kimbrel blow non save after non save, in fact his ERA was over 5 in nonsaves (and not a tiny sample size), while it was at around 2.50 or something during saves. While less exaggerated, the trend continues throughout his career by about one run. I’ve looked into some other closers, and many (no, I’m not claiming all) share the same trend (e.g. Jansen, Ramos, etc.). I don’t know why this is true, and I don’t know if it will apply to the young Diaz, but psychology is a science and we need to look at the data as well as the logic.
That’s a good point, I’ve definitely noticed that trend in Kimbrel. However, I’m curious what the differences are between “low leverage” (e.g., blowouts, down in the game, etc.) non-save situations vs. “high leverage” non-save situations. I feel that a closer’s mentality in a high leverage non-save appearance would be similar to closing a game. The psychology aspect of relievers is certainly something that would be very interesting to learn about.
Craig Kimbrel in his career: opponents BA/OB/SLG
Save situations: 143/219/210
Non-Save Situations: 189/310/275.
So a little better in saves but he’s still an elite pitcher in non-save situations. It’s a little difficult to explain why that might be. It feels like a waste, especially for a team with a shaky bullpen, to reserve its best reliever for one inning with a lead, but that’s the way they’re going to use him. I like what Cincinatti is doing, and it seems to be working – their record is better than their talent level and almost all of that is attributable to their innovative bullpen use.
It’s all about what the player is most comfortable with. I for one wouldn’t like having my closer pitch the 7th inning with runners in scoring position in order to hold a one run lead. During the post season I can see the logic, but for regular season games? This analytics stuff i feel is taking too big of a role in the game. Yes, there’s a place for it, like when a guy is an extreme pull hitter or for smaller clubs looking to gain an edge. But when your starting to micromanage everything, like consistently playing your outfielders up to take away more bloopers only to allow more extra base hits, there’s a wide margin for error.
So you’d rather have your closer pitch a situation he is uncomfortable with in the playoffs than you would in the regular season?
I think if it’s a situation like you described – a one run lead in the seventh with two runners on base and you really need an out – I’d prefer to have my best pitcher on the mound rather than, say, Tommy Layne or whoever.
Psychology is the least appreciated aspect of sports and yet the most important. It’s what separates the players who make it and the players who are just as physically talented who don’t.
I heard someone make the claim yesterday that a team that chokes every year can’t be labeled as chokers because it’s a new season. Willfully ignoring the ample evidence because it’s considered less tangible or something.
“I heard someone make the claim yesterday that a team that chokes every year can’t be labeled as chokers because it’s a new season. Willfully ignoring the ample evidence because it’s considered less tangible or something.”
I seem to recall quite a few people commenting on how the cubs would choke in 2016 because they always have in the past. Didn’t seem to doom them.
H8ters.
Well, it’s rather absurd to claim a certain group of players will choke because different players who wore the same uniform did.
But, when the same core of players has proven year in and year out that they wilt under pressure, it’s no smarter to ignore that.
That’s probably because non-save situations are higher leverage. Facing a teams 2-3-4 hitters in the eighth is harder than there 8-9-1 in the ninth
In my opinion, you are absolutely right. I think it has some to do with added adrenaline in a save situation and also because of the power of their routines. Doing the same things to prepare at the same point in the game day in and day out.
What I would like to see is more of is 2 and 3 inning saves like there was back when Rollie Fingers and Goose Gossage were pitching. That’s once through the lineup. I think a lot of these guys have dominant enough stuff that they can go more than 3 outs.
Can Profar still play an effective shortstop? Are his struggles at the plate really just a matter of consistent at bats? Would love some objective analysis from a Texas fan.
If the answer is yes, why not a Brad Hand for Profar trade? Would seem to benefit both clubs. I believe both are FA in 2020.
Profar is great defensively at SS/2nd. At first I thought his problem was that he just wasn’t getting consistent at bats but he’s gotten enough at this point. I’m not sure what his problem is. He was amazing in the WBC. Maybe he’s just not motivated.
Rangers won’t trade low on Profar. If he can’t hit at Arlington, then he should get sent down to work out his batting issues.
Lmao Brad Hand and Matt Adams for Profar in the same thread, yall are UNREAL today lmao
I guess my response would be, since Profar has come back from his shoulder injury, what exactly has he done that suggests his current value exceeds Hand’s current value? On fwar alone, over the same time period, he is a 0 and Hand is 1.7.
Admittedly his pedigree far exceeds that of Hand’s. But that was 5 years ago, and a shoulder surgery ago. Not to mention he only has 2+ years of control left, and Boras is his agent, so we can likely forgo any extension talk. Although I do not know why you would want to extend based upon performance to date.
When Beltre returns, does Gallo take over LF?
My fantasy teams hope so…
Probably DH
I could see him bouncing around, taking at-bats from Choo at DH and Napoli at 1B, as well as handling a fair share of LF.
He’s not great at SS since the shoulder issues. His arm strength simply isn’t there, and most talent evaluators no longer consider him a viable option at SS.
I guess that could change down the line, but dudes with rebuilt shoulders can have a tough time long term. He has 700 major league PA with a .638 OPS and 73 OPS+. I think he still has some value and can be a decent player but it’s also time to face the option that post injury, he might not be that good.
It’s a shame if that’s the case, he was an electrifying talent before his shoulder blew out. Anybody who saw him in the 2011/2012 Futures Games can testify to that.
I’d love to see Profar delt as I’m curious wether or not he can be a productive player. His playing time situation in TEX isn’t doing him any favors. Give him a legit chance at playing 2B consistently and see what happens.
If profars time in TX is coming to a close. Can the pads please ship some low tier guys for him.
Its been years now, I think it’s safe to call Profar a bust.